Sometimes realtors describe a property as being a “diamond in the rough”; or maybe “a gem that needs polishing”; or a house that has “good bones”. The current buzz phrase is “classic mid-century”, which when translated often means a home built in the 1940’s-1960’s that may or may not have updates.

“BEFORE” 5900 SW 83rd STREET

Some of those homes can be fabulous! Sure it takes time, money, and energy but many find it so rewarding! The markets that I specialize in: South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest, & Palmetto Bay are low in ‘turn-key’ inventory, especially in the $500,000 – $1,250,000 range, so now might be the time to consider those properties which need some TLC!

“AFTER” 5900 SW 83rd STREET

Try and separate the cosmetics from the fundamentals! First and most importantly, is the property in a neighborhood you desire? Does the property have the needed space, both inside and out? If not, can space be added? Is there good light? Is there room for a pool if you want to add one later? If the fundamentals are there, maybe you consider the ‘labor of love’route!

I recently sold the two homes in South Miami to Buyers who would have preferred ‘turnkey’, but they didn’t exist at the time or were unaffordable. Thank goodness they had vision! Both families are so happy with their decisions, and I have great neighbors!

5841 SW 86th Street Before

“AFTER” 5841 SW 86th STREET

To learn more about real estate in South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, contact Val Byrne at [email protected] or at 305-323-6231. Val Byrne – Working For You!

In my 20-year real estate career in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, South Miami, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, and the Brickell corridor I have NEVER seen so many people looking to rent. I’m predominantly a Buying and a Selling Agent in Miami’s luxury home market, but I’m well versed in the local rental market, and typically have 5-10 rental transactions per year. That is until this year: I’ve had 10 rental transactions and 5 current prospects, and it’s only April. I’ve been preparing Leases from $2,000/month to $20,000/month, and I don’t see a slowdown. I’m finding this month that it will cost at least $2 per square foot to get a decently clean, updated single family home with a pool, and in Coral Gables many will have to pay that and skip the pool!

15 rental transactions in four months is so far out of the norm for me that I decided to stop and look at my own stats, as well as a those where I have been renting: Coral Gables, South Miami & High Pines, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, and Brickell. Glaring at me are the number of new-comers to Miami just in my own chamber of business. There are 10 renters from out-of-state that have moved for job reasons (5 of them physicians); all wanted to rent and scout before buying. Only 1 is from out-of-the country which confirms what we already know: the “foreign investor” knows Miami is a safe bet; no need to rent and no time to fool around – prices are going up. The remaining folks are locals renting while they build their new home or are in-between homes; and my favorite renters are an 88 and 95-year old married couple: they wanted a more simple, maintenance free lifestyle so they could relax (me too!).

I walk through beautiful Snapper Creek Lakes from my home in South Miami a couple times a week: passing through Hammock Lakes Park, the Dade County Nursery (see my Dog Park blog), and often stopping by the Wayside Fruit Stand for a drink on the way home (my FITBIT tells me my route is about 12,000 steps).

This month I have been delighted by the Easter decorations at one of the homes on the Lake. It’s not the first time they have decorated; I have been admiring their holiday decor for a long time, but last week I had to pull out my phone and snap some pictures. This takes “creative” to the highest level: coconuts, flowers, palm fronds, some paint, and abracadabra! It’s a spectacular spring display.

Snapper Creek Lakes is one of my favorite communities in Coral Gables. In this gated paradise peacocks roam wide, friendly streets where stunning homes sprawl out on one to one-and-a-half acre oak-studded properties; a sleepy marina and dock master oversee boat storage and activity, and Biscayne Bay is only a bridge away. There are about eight homes for sale in Snapper Creek right now ranging from $3.2 million to almost $10 million, each an architectural specimen. Right now my favorite is the old Pancoast property, where the “cool chicks” reside.

To learn more about real estate in South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, contact Val Byrne at [email protected] or at 305-323-6231. Val Byrne – Working For You!

This lovely corner-built Club Villa adjacent to Deering Bay’s world-class deep water marina awaits some lucky Buyer! If ‘condo living’ doesn’t suit your lifestyle but you yearn for minimal-maintenance living, the Club Villas are magnificent compromise. At Deering Bay Club Villas you can enjoy the comforts of single family home lifestyle, and the 5-star amenities, privacy, and security provided at the Deering Bay Yacht and Country Club.

Property Details:

3 Bedroom/3.5 Baths

3,150 Adjusted Square Feet

5,812 Square Foot Lot

List Price $1,099,000

Club Villa Courtyard

Marina Views from 2nd Floor

Formal Dining Room

Eat-In Kitchen

Formal Living Room

Master Suite

To learn more about real estate in South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, contact Val Byrne at [email protected] or at 305-323-6231. Val Byrne – Working For You!

Ron Shuffield, President and genius data cruncher at EWM Realty International delivered our spring outlook last week and the forecast is SUNNY! Watch this quick video to hear it for yourself, but in a nut shell Ron summarized the last three years of real estate sales in Dade County (2011-2013) as being record breakers. Each year the number of sales of single family homes and condominiums exceeded the prior year, and these were double digit increases!

Ron expects to maintain high levels of sales in 2014. Our indicator of future sales is the amount of inventory of properties for sale, more specifically, the ‘number of months’ of inventory available. In Dade County we have about 5-6 months of supply right now, which Ron believes is a healthy amount. In my 20 years selling homes in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, South Miami, Palmetto Bay, and Pinecrest, I find that a little on the low side, and with that trend prices usually increase. As Ron says in the video, it is very “neighborhood specific”.

I’m working with a lot of Buyers looking for homes in South Miami, Coral Gables, and Coconut Grove in the $650,000-$1,000,000 range, and there are very few options out there. In South Miami alone there is very little, and even if we stretch budgets up over $1,000,000 the same holds true.

Buyers need to be working realtors who know the market, and know the minute a new home comes on the market. That’s what it often boils down to – seeing a home and making an offer on day ONE. Best news in Ron’s spring forecast is that our prices are generally still 35%-40% less than they were at the peak of 2007, and so there are still tremendous values in Miami.

To learn more about real estate in South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, contact Val Byrne at [email protected] or at 305-323-6231. Val Byrne – Working For You!

One of my favorite things to do is take my dogs to that beautiful park adjacent to the Hammock Lake and Snapper Creek Lake communities that I call ‘dog park’ (but many refer to it as the Dade County Nursery). It’s a vast parcel of unspoiled land nestled between Old Cutler Road and Red Road that the Matheson family gave to the County many years ago.

It’s dog nirvana. Most any time you’ll find dogs fetching frisbees and swimming in the pond. On weekends (I am there every Sunday) I think there are as many breeds at the park as there are at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. If you don’t have a dog it’s still a great place to hike! You can park across the street from Fairchild Tropical Garden in the unpaved parking lot and follow the trail, or you can enter at the most southern end of School House Road (SW 52nd Avenue), and there is plenty of room to park.

‘Dog Park’ is sandwiched between two premier, gated Coral Gables communities: Hammock Lake Park and Snapper Creek Lakes. Homes averaged $550ish per square foot in the last 18 months. I sold the most beautiful home in the area in 2013 – a dreamy residence designed by Portuondo Perotti Architects. The Buyers have dogs – I wonder if they found nirvana down the street!

To learn more about real estate in South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, contact Val Byrne at [email protected] or at 305-323-6231. Val Byrne – Working For You!

LUCKY YOU if you live in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, South Miami, High Pines (and Ponce corridor), or Pinecrest, because they are Farmers’ Market communities! A community is only as good as its ‘sense of community’, and there is something wonderfully refreshing and ‘grass roots’ about bumping into friends and neighbors while shopping for fresh produce!

I shop at least one Farmers’ Market each week, and to add to the adventure, I either walk or cycle (sometimes I don’t recognize myself). I have to admit my favorite is the Pinecrest Gardens Farmers’ Market. I live in South Miami but I am a Pinecrest Farmers’ Market girl.

Aside from the stellar fruits and vegetables, there are a few things I don’t resist: Fatima’s Soaps and Candles are amazing, the guacamole guy has bar none the best EVER, my peeps LOVE the maple bacon and sweet Italian sausage, and the lady in the middle-aisle bread station has THE best Asiago bread.

Whether you live in one of these great communities or are thinking about buying real estate in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, South Miami/High Pines, or Pinecrest, be sure to support the local economy, the local farmer, and HAVE A GREAT TIME!

If you’re thinking about your retirement or near-retirement years I hope an ELEVATOR is in your thoughts! I’ve had an onslaught of clients moving out of the Big house with the Big yard and Big maintenance, and opting for comfortable and easy. These scrutinizing folks want space (#1 request) and high-end appointments (tied for #1), and this often comes in the form of vertical living!

Lesson 1: You never anticipate or prepare for knee and hip surgeries. Lesson 2: Most master bedrooms in 2-story residences are upstairs! No matter if you are looking at South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, or the Ponce & Davis corridors, these ‘empty nester’ residences are often going to have 2 floors, so you have to imagine going up and down the stairs when it’s not going to be so easy! Is there enough space in the staircase to accommodate a chair lift? Even better, is there an elevator? If the thought of using an elevator turns your nose up now, just use it for storage while those hips and knees are cooperating. They make great closets!

I have a beautiful home for sale in the Ponce Estates area (adjacent to Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, and South Miami) that has it all: lots of space (4,000sf), lovely appointments, and an ELEVATOR!!! It’s the baby boomer’s luxury.

7830 SW 48th Court4 Bedrooms / 4 BathroomsList Price: $1.549,000

To learn more about real estate in South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, contact Val Byrne at [email protected] or at 305-323-6231. Val Byrne – Working For You!

No one sold more properties over $1,000,000 in Miami-Dade County in 2013 than EWM Realty International. EWM agents sold 420 single family homes and condominiums in that price range last year, and that was 26% more than our next closest competitor (who sold 334 properties in that same price range)!

Releasing that information made me want to look back a few years at the prices in Dade County! In January, 2003 the average price per square foot of a property priced over $1,000,000 in Dade County was $375. When the market “peaked” in that 2007ish period the average price per square foot was in the $550-$600 range. By mid-July, 2013, we were looking at about $625 per square foot, and by the end of the year we were in the $650ish price per square foot.As we settle into 2014 I will be keeping my blog updated with facts and trends, especially in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, South Miami, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, and the Ponce/Road corridors, where I specialize in luxury real estate, both for sale and for rent.

The Last 10 Years In Luxury Real Estate Sales($1,000,000 and over)

To learn more about real estate in South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, contact Val Byrne at [email protected] or at 305-323-6231. Val Byrne – Working For You!

EWM announced the 2013 Chairman’s Club members this weekend. 32 EWM agents in Dade and Broward Counties have been given the highest honor, the Diamond Club Level, for selling the most real estate (dollar volume) company-wide, and representing the most selective “top” 1/2 of 1% of realtors nationwide. They say a person is judged by the company they keep, and as a member of the Diamond Club I am honored to be keeping company with these outstanding professionals, especially those selling real estate in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, South Miami, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, and the Ponce/Davis corridor. I not only specialize in real estate in those neighborhoods, but have lived in or been a property owner in each one of them too!

Val ByrneWorking For You!

A very special thank you to the Buyers and Sellers who worked with me this past year – it was a complete pleasure, and I am happy to call each one of you ‘friend’. As they say at my son’s high school (Christopher Columbus High School), Adelante! 2014 is off to a great start!

To learn more about real estate in South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, contact Val Byrne at [email protected] or at 305-323-6231. Val Byrne – Working For You!